Straw-spreader.



C. L. BUEKER.v

STRAWSPREADER. v APPucATmN man ris. 24. |917.

Patented' oen-23,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

1 C. L. BUEKER.

.STRAW SPREADER.

APPucAnoN man ris. 24. |911.

Patened Oct. 23, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' pwrr san narrar orrori.

CHARLES L. BUEKER, OF BROOKVlLLE, KANSAS.

STRAW-SPREADEB..

Speecation of Letters Patent.k

Application filed February 24, 1917. SerialiNo. 150,738.

straw may be carried and by which thev straw will be effectually spread in rear of the machine as the same is drawn over the field. Y

T he invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and resides in certain novel features which will be first fully described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofmy improved apparatus, the frame or inclosing rack being indicated in dotted lines and the mechanism for conveying the straw to the rear end of the machine and delivering it to the spreaders being shown in full lines;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improved mechanism y Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the machine with parts broken away and in section; Y

iFig. 4- is an enlarged longitudinal section.

ln carrying out my invention, I employ two main sills 1 which converge ltoward their front ends and have said ends secured to a bolster 2 which is supported through a fifth-wheel 3 and a king bolt 1 upon the front axle 5, a draft-pole or tongue 6 extending from said front axle so that draft animals may be readily harnessed to the machine to draw the same over the field. Braces 7 are secured at their rear ends to the sills 1 and have their front ends fitte-d upon the lower end of the king bolt 4c and are held against dropping therefrom by a cotter-pin or nut, or other device, as will be readily understood. The front end of the truck or suppporting frame is thus eectually braced and mounted uponV the front axle so that collapse of the forward portion of the apparatus will be-unlikely and the machine may be easily steered.

Cross bars 8 are secured upon the side sills 1 at intervals Vand project laterally beyond both sills. A door` orl deck 9 is secured upon these cross bars and sides 10Y of any preferred construction are built upon rammed oet. as, fait. i

the floor or deck and the projecting ends of the cross bars, it being thereby possible to load the rack witha large quantity of straw and prevent loss of thestraw by the same falling over the sides of the truck. The rear portion of the truck is -supported by a. rear axle 11 upon which ground wheels 12 are mounted, these wheels being preferably loose upon the axle but connected with the same by the well-known escapement ratchf ets so that rearward movement of the wheels will not affect the operating mechanism while forward movement of the wheels will actuate said mechanism. f

Upon the axle 11, at about the center of the same, is mounted a sprocket wheel 18 which is loose upon'the axle but is held against longitudinal movement thereon andV one end of the hub 14 of this sprocket wheel is constructed with notches, as shown at 15, whereby said hub constitutes a clutch member. structedwith an annular rib or flange, indicated at 16, and over the said rib'or flange are fitted the internally grooved ends of the clamping members 17y which are bolted se-` curely upon the axle so that they will be constrained to rotate with the axle and held against longitudinal movement thereon. The clamp members, obviously, due to their engagement with the`rib or flanged end of the hub of the sprocket wheel, will hold the said sprocket wheel against movement along the axle. upon the axle and constructed to engage the notched end of the hub of the sprocket wheel, as shown'in Fig. 3, sothat rotation of the axle may be imparted to the sprocket The opposite end of the hub is con- A clutch member 18 is mounted wheel. AThis clutch member 18 is slidable i upon the axle and is held to the same by a key or feather, as shown at 19 in Fig. 3, and it is externally grooved to vfacilitate its engagement by a yoke 20 on the rear end of an angle lever 21 which is fulcrumed upon a cross bar of the truck. The front end of the venient or preferred manner and equipped with the usual latch 24 engaging a holding segment 25 whereby it will be maintained in any position in which it may be set. It

will be readily understood that by causing therear end of theiangle `lever 21 to swing es relance toward the adjacent side the truck, the clutch will be withdrawn 'from its engage-V ment with the sprocket wheel hub and the rotation of the axle will not then atlect the sprocket and the mechanism will remain at rest. lt the lever be swung in the opposite direction, the clutch will be thrown into engagement with the sprocket wheel hub and all the. mechanism will then be set in motion. A. countenshatt 2b is journaled in suitable bearings upon the sills l and at the center of this shaft is a sprocket wheel 27 which bears upon and engages the upper run olf a sprocket chain 28 which is trained around the main driving sprocket 13 and a sprocket- 29 on the shaft 30 through which motion is imparted to the spreader reels. Near one end ot the shaft 26, l secure thereto ay sprocket pinion 3l around which is trained a chain 32, said chain being also passed around a sprocket 33 fixed upon a shaft 341 which is jouri'ialed in suitable bearings upon the rear uprights rlhe uprights 35, as shown most clearlU in Fig. 3, define 'a discharge opening and the shaft 3i extends across the lowe portion ot said opening and carries a pair of rollers or wheels S6 which partly support and impart motion to the. conveyer consisting of the chains 37 and the cross bars 38 secured to said chains. The forward end of the conveyer is carried by sprocket pinions 39 secured upon a shalt Ll0 mounted in suitable bearings on the sills l below the deck or tloor 9 so that `the forlvard portion ot the conyeyer will be below the bottom ot the load and, therefore7 will easily taire up the straw and draw the sance to the rear end of the machine. lt will be readily understood that the sprocket chain 28.; acting upon the pinion 27, rotates the shatt26 and the rotation of said shaft is transmitted through the sprocket 3l. and chain 32 to sprocket 33 and shaft 3i and said shaft acts directly yupon the conveyor so that the upper' run ot' the conveyor will travel toward the rear ot the machine. The rear ends. ot the sills l project beyond the uprights 35 and the rear end ot the rack and upon the said projecting ends, l secure flooring el to prevent the straw discharged from the rack by the conveyer dropping at once to the ground or falling upon and clogging the action of the shaft 30 and the parts connected therewith. Jf'lr'ound the ends ot' the sill l, l secure trame 4t2 which consists of a bar ot metal extending over the upper edges of the sills and having its ends turned down against and secured to the outer sides of the sills,l and a second bar extending bev tween the lower ends ot' the -iirst-lnentioned bar and having, its extremities secured rigidly thereto. Att intermediate points of this trarne', between the sills, l provide uprights lwhich are secured rigidly to the. top, and betten estabas @Si the elett 30 is journaled in bearings secured to these uprights. The ends ot the said shalt are equipped with beveled gears le vhich mesh with beveled pinions #l5 on the spreader shafts ft the said spreader shafts being journalein bearings provided upon the top of the traine and extending above the deck el-. the upper ends of thc spreader shatts, l secure heads or brackets L7 and upon the upper ends or sides of these heads o brackets. l rigidly secure a plurality of signfeader arms d8, the said arms being prelierably constrlzcted oli angle iron so that they will readily beat against the talling straw and throw the saine laterally from the machine. To each ot the arms il, l secure a tooth or shreddin` plate i9 which will take into the straw and cutthrough the saine so that when it is thrown from the machine it will be very small particles. rll`he spreaderl shafts pass through both the top and bottom of the trame l2 and are thereby very elllectually supported so as to resist torsional strain and as the bottom bar of this trame is removable the parts may be readily assensbled or the gears changed so as to give the spreaders any desired speed of rotation.

The boxes in which the shafts l0 and are jiournaled7 are secured directly against the faces ot the sills l, as shown clearly in Figs. l and e, and consist of a cylindrical or tubular box or socket to receive the end of the shaft and a base or attaching` plate extending; laterally 'troni the socket and provided with a plurality oi" openings through which bolts or-rivets may be inserted into the sill.y lt will be readily noted that this construction permits the bearing to be very securely fastened to the sill while, at the saine timea it pe units the bearing;q to be very easily removed to permit repairs to be made to the shaft or to permit the substitution of a new shaft tor a worn shaft. rThe boxes 51 in which the rear axle is journaled consist oivf sleeves passingunder the sills and provided with lateral flanges 52 whichbear against the under edges of the sills and are secured thereto by bolts 53 passing vertically entirely through the sills. A flange or plate 54e rises from the sleeve 5l and bears against the outer side of the sill and bolts 55 are inserted transversely through the` saidl plate or flange and the sill. lt will beV noted that this construction is very strong and very eectually resists the great strain placed upon the machine at this point.

llt is thought the operation Vand advane 'i tages of my improved apparatus will be' readily understood and appreciated flromV the toregoinav description1 taken in connection with the accompanyingi drawings. The straw is loaded lntothe box or rack. conjsistina of the. :floor 9 and the sides 10, and

the machine is `then drawn overl the field.A

`den 'machine(hasreached'the point which it is desired to begin fertilizing, the clutch 18 is thrown into engagement with the sprocket hub 15 and the motion of the wheels l2 will be then transmitted to the several working parts, the conveyer moving, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, to carry the straw to and through the space between the uprights 35 and discharge the same onto the beaters. The beater shafts will rotate in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows in 'F ig. 2, and upon reference to said figure it will be readily noted that as the straw falls from the end of the conveyer it will descend directly upon the beater arms and will be engaged by them so that it will be thrown rearwardly and laterally from the machine. The beater arms will rotate at a speed suiicient to throw the straw a considerable distance and thereby thoroughly scatter it and prevent its dropping' upon the ground in such masses as will prevent the rapid assimilation of the soil-enriching elements thereof by the ground. It will be readily noted that the driving mechanism is very simple and direct acting. The machine may be manufactured at alow cost and will prove highly eiicient when in use. It is not apt to get out of order and may` therefore, be very economically maintained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a. straw spreader, the combination of a truck having longitudinal sills, a box resting on said sills and having a discharge opening in its rear end, a platform secured upon and bridging the rear ends of the sills to receive material passing through said discharge opening, a frame secured upon and depending from said sills, standards in said' frame between the sills, a shaft journaled upon said standards, means acting on said shaft to rotate the same, beater shafts mounted vertically in the frame between the standards and the respectively adjacent sills and having their upper ends projecting above the platform and disposed at opposite sides of the discharge opening inthe box, gearing operatively connecting said beater shafts with the first-mentioned shaft, and radial beaters secured upon the upper ends of the said shafts and having their free ends describing paths extending into the path of material issuing from the discharge opening in the box.

2. In a straw spreader, the combination of a truck having rearwardly-projecting longitudinal sills, a supporting frame secured around and depending from the rear ends of said sills, beater shafts disposed verti-- cally in said frame adjacent the respective sills, a shaft mounted horizontally in the frame between the beater shafts and operatively connected at its ends with said shafts,

-radial beater arms secured on the upper ends of saidbeater shafts, and shredder teeth secured upon the beater arms to cut through straw delivered to the same, the free ends of the arms moving forwardly between the beater shafts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES L. BUEKER. [n s] Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

